Photo: TheTrueCollection.com
JT Holmes, a legend in the world of steep skiing, was buried in an avalanche this week in the Tahoe backcountry in an area known as Tinker Knob.
According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, Holmes was on his fourth run of the day when he triggered a slide that flushed him down a steep slope that featured “complex terrain with trees, chutes and gullies,” at an estimated 7,400 feet. The second wave of the avalanche buried him, rendering the BASE and Wingsuit expert unconscious. He was rescued by the other three members of his party and didn’t require CPR but did need help exiting the area.
“I feel very shaken up,” he said. “I feel very grateful I was with a team of very prepared individuals, I feel grateful we discussed avalanche protocol in the morning, practiced with our beacons.”
Holmes has always been an expert at gauging risk near the edge of what’s possible in several sports. Anderson Cooper with 60 Minutes recently ran a story on Holmes’ mission to ski BASE jump off the Eiger. He was successful the first jump and decided to try again, when he had trouble releasing one of his skis.
With all the snow this year in the Sierras, the avalanche conditions have been significant. A snowboarder set off an inbounds slide at Sugar Bowl. The snowboarder apparently rode a closed area and the mountain is considering prosecuting him. A search was also suspended for a missing ski instructor at the area.
Holmes is a legend in action sports and produces the television show The Line which runs on select television stations across the country.
